Conveyer chain and sprocket wheel therefor



Nov. 28, 1933. R R WORRALL 1,937,304

CONVEYER CHAIN AND SPROCKET WHEEL THEREFOR Filed Aug. 4, 1950 W "El,

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Patented Nov. 28, 1933 coNvEYER CHAIN AND 'sPRooKET THEREFOR PATENT- f clerics il WHEEL Roy R. Worrall, Webster Groves, Mo., assigner to Alvey Conveyor Manufacturing Co., St. Louis, Mo., a corporation ofMissouri Application August 4,1930. serial No. 472,856 11 claims.. (ol. 19a-189) My invention relates to conveyer chains which are supported and driven bysprocket wheels. In many industries, such as the rdairyingrindustry wherein conveyer chains are used extensively and sanitation is an` important factor, it isdesirable to keep the conveyer chains as clean as possible and also insure' smooth operationthereof. The

principal object of this invention is to devise a.

conveyer chain having-practically no pockets or recesses in which dirt can collect, and also suitable sprocket wheels for driving and carrying said chain that, upon engaging said chain, will help to clean the same and suitably dispose of any dirt or foreign matter that may collect thereon. '1A further object of my invention is to provide a. sprocket Wheel that will `prevent articles riding over the same from being caught, bumped or jostled in any manner. f 9' A I My invention consists principally in a conveyer chain and a sprocket wheel therefor wherein the teeth of said sprocket wheel extend inwardly from the edges of a peripheral groove provided` around said sprocket wheel, and engage" the sides of said chain tending to scrape any dirt collected passes, above the top oflsad chain, soy that articles riding over said sprocket wheelV will not be caught or jostled in any manner, and which will insure smooth operation of the .chain as anconveyer. My invention also consists in the parts, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In'the accompanying` drawing, which forms part of this specication and wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts wherever they occur,

Fig. lis a side View, with lparts broken away, of a sprocket wheel. embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing also sections through a conveyer chain,

Fig. 3 isa plan view of a chain embodying my invention, y

Fig.4 is a side view of the chain shown in Fig. 3, f

Fig. 5 isa section along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a section along the line 6--5 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 7 is a section along the line '7-7 of Fig. 3;and A on said chain whenever said teeth and said chain Fig. 8 is a'perspective view'of a mortise link of my chain. y

`In theY construction illustrated, a sprocket wheel l embodying my invention, and' preferably'of integral construction, comprises a usual central' hub 60 2 with a core opening S'eXtending therethrough.

.ExtendingV from the central peripheral' portion of said hub 2l is an annular web 4 provided with a peripheral ange 5, each end of saidl liange 5 being providedwith an annular flange 6 which 65 forms outside edges of an annular rectangular shaped trough or groove 7 for engaging a conveyer chain. f `Provided at regular intervals in said grooves 'l are raised flat portions 8 Which constitute a 'Z0 base forhalf conical shaped: sprocket teeth 9 l Whose base portions extend inwardly from each edgeof .the groove .to aboutone-third the width of said groove, whereas 'said teethtaper toward the edges of saidgroove to form tips in close proximity to vtheouterend of saidsprocket wheel. Y

:Each tooth which extends inwardly from one edge of thegroove is located adjacent an opposite tooth kwhich extends inwardlyV from-the other edge of" saidA groove, and both of; whichcooperate with each other and Yform similar sets of teeth'around said sprocket wheel and which act together as one tooth ,of.. an ordinary sprocket wheel.

The lchain illustrated and particularly adapted A for use with the above described sprocket wheel comprises a plurality of mortise links 10, between each Aofv which isinterposed a peculiarly shaped tenon linkY A11 and which are held together, bysuitablepins 12. Each mortise link'lO, which isi of symmetrical shape both in a vertical and longi- 'tudinal direction, is H-shapedhaving an opening "13 at Yeach end for receiving a tenon 14 extending from theY companion tenon link 11, and l Vsaidvrnortise linkhas flat surfaces on bothfthe A top and bottom thereof. y

Each tenon link comprises a main central body l.portion 15 which is of the same width on the top.

as that of a mortise link, however, the sidesof` the main body portion 15 are curved inwardly at Y 16 terminating in anarrow iiat bottom portion 100v 17; It is obvious, vin this connection, that when vusing said chain in connection with the sprocket wheel Aembodying my invention, the exact vshape of the side curved portions 1 6 of said link are determined by the shape of theinner portions f of the sprocket teeth 9, as said teeth are adapted to engage said curvedside portions and scrape.

the sides of all portions thereof thoroughly. EX.- tending from Aboth thefforward vand rear part.

of the central body portion 15 of said tenon link '1105' against removal during operation. As the tenons V 14 loosely engage the mortise openings, it is" obvious that the chain is capable ofipermitting universal action as each link may rotate a slight distance horizontally, besides the normal rotation around the axis of the connecting pin.

Since the shape of the teeth 9 provided Y on the sprocket wheel are adapted so as to completely engage the sides of the cooperating curved side portions 16 of the tenon link, andisince the sides of the groove of said sprocket wheel directlyengage the sides of the-mortise, link; any

dirt or undesirable matter that may collect on the chainwillbe scraped from the sidesof said chain upon rotation of thesprocket wheel, and said dirt will then become lodged in the space located between each set of teethiand between said chain and the ,bottom of the peripheralv groove 7. In order to free the sprocket wheel of such dirt,v the bottom of the groove is provided with openings 21 which extend through.

the peripheral flange 5 and Whichallow the dirt to fall therethrough by gravityas the sprocket wheel rotates.

The advantages of mychain are obvious.` It is readily understood thatV conveyerchains of the, ordinary type regardless of the construction thereof, will undoubtedly collect a certain amount of dirt, resulting in dirty and usually unsantary conditions.k As my chain is of such a construc- ,tion that there are no pockets or recesses wherein dirt can collect thereon, and also,'since the sprockets areso designed to thoroughly scrape thesides of said chain'to. remove'any dirt that may collect, an adequate protection against my v.chain becoming dirty :and remaining so is afforded. A further advantage of rnychain and` sprocket wheel is that the chain is capable. of

universal action, is of simple cxinstruction"'andV the sprocket wheel isiso' designed that articles passing thereover will notbe jostled or bumped.

Another advantage is' that my chain is provided with a large fiat top carrying surface, and therbottorn portion or a plurality of links oiers sufiicient bearing Ysurface to insure thorough' stability. u

Obviously as certain features of the oonstruction illustrated may be varied Without departing from the spirit and scopeof my invention, I do not wish to be limited to the construction hereinbefore described.

What I claim is: 1. The combination of a conveyer chain and a sprocket wheel, said sprocket wheel being provided with an annular'trough shaped periphery, 'i

said trough being provided at regular intervals with raised flat portions, oppositely disposed pairsl of sprocket teeth extending from the edges of said trough inwardly whose bottom portions extend from the central portion offsaid flat portions and whose top portions merge into the sides of said groove before reaching the outer end thereof, and said'chain being provided at regular intervalsl with side portions which are curved frornjawide top surface to a narrow bottorn.por.

tion and which are correspondingly curved for receiving said sprocket teeth on each side.

2. A conveyer chain comprising a plurality of H-shaped mortise links, tenon links interposed between each mortise link and held together by pins, each tenon link having a wide nat top sur-y face and the sides of each being curved inwardly to form a narrow flat bottom surface.

3. A link for a conveyer chain provided at eachend with tenons which extend from the main'body portion which is flat at the top and whoseY sideslarecivd inwardly to form a narrow bottom portion which is slightly narrower than the widthof the tenons.

4. The combinationof a conveyer chain and a sprocket wheel,A said sprocket wheel being provided witha parallel-sided peripheral groove, teeth extending inwardly from the sides of said v groove, and holes at the bottom of the groove, the top of saidconveyer chain being of substantially the same widthas said groove and comprising links of one series with parallel-sidesialternatingWithf.. links of aseeond series ,with sides recessed to ac.A u

commodate said teeth., i f

5. The combination of aconveyerchainand a sprocket-wheel, said sprocket-wheel having a par allel-sided groove in its periphery .and` oppositely disposed pairs of teeth extending Vinwardly' from,.. the sides of said groove, and saidvconveyer chain...

having fiat-sided links of substantiallyl .even

4width with said groove alternating with. linksi,

whose sides are recessed to accommodatesaidp;

teeth. f

6, The combination of aconveyer chainiand a sprocket wheel, said sprocket-wheelhaving'aparallel-sided groovelin Vits peripheryof sonfievvhat` greater depth thanthe chain andoppositelykdis-,

posed pairs of teeth extending,inwardlyfrom,thel

sides of said groove,andsaidconveyenchain,haven ing atsidedlinks of substantially even rwidth with said groove Aalternatingwith links whose sides are recessedto accommodate said teeth.

'7. The combination. of a convey?? Chain and at sprocket wheelQsaidsprocket wheel having a parallel-side'd groove in its periphery;andwoppositely vdisposed.pairs''of teeth eiterding, inwardly Yfrom v ythe sidesof said groove, and saidconveyerlchain` khaving parallelfsided links of substantially even width with said groove alternating fwithllinks e' whose sides converge 'downwardly ,to accommo-l date said teeth.. A S. The combination o a conveyerchain and a sprocket wheel, said'sprocket wheel beingpr Vvidedvvith a parallel-sided peripheralgroove,teeth of semi-conical forni 1 extending` inwardlyV lfrom the sides of vsaid groove, andhole's at thebottom,... of the groove, the top of said conveyerchainmv being of substantially the same width as said groove and comprisingwlinl-Vzs of one series with, parallel sides alternating with links of a `second series whose sides convergedownwardly to ac-V f commodatesaid teeth;

9. Thevcornbination of a conveyer chain and a sprocket wheel, said sprocket'wheel beingfprof vided with a parallel-sided peripheral groove,A

teeth extending inwardly from the sides"Y of said groove, and holes at the `bottoxnof the groove,`

`the top ,of said conveyer chain vbeing substantially fiat and of substantially the same width as said t groove and comprising parallel-sided linkswithjr grooves in their ends alternating with links pro mentioned links converging'downwardly.

, vided at their ends .with tenonswhich. enter thel grooves of adjacent links and are .'pivotally *con-g Vnected to the wallsj thereof, the sides of. said last its.l

10. The combination of a conveyer chain and a sprocket wheel, said sprocket wheel having a parallel-sided groove in its periphery and oppositely disposed pairs of teeth extending inwardly from the sides of said groove, and said conveyer chain having substantially parallelsided links oi substantially even width with said groove alternating with links of like width at the top end whose sides converge downwardly to accommodate said teeth, said last mentioned links having rounded tenons in their ends, which t loosely between and are pivotally connected to spaced rounded tenons at the ends of said first mentioned links, lthe rounded surfaces of the tenons substantially merging into the top surfaces of the links and the pivotal connections being close to the centers of curvatures. y

11. The combination of a conveyer chain and a sprocket wheel, said sprocket wheel having a. parallel-sided groove in its periphery of somewhat greater depth than the chain and oppositely disposed pairs of teeth extending inwardly from the sides of said groove, and said conveyer chain having substantially parallel-sided links of substantially even width with said groove alternating with links of like width at the top and whose sides converge downwardly to accorrnnodate said teeth, said last mentioned links having rounded tenons in their ends, which fit loosely between and are pivotally connected to spaced rounded tenons at the ends of said rst mentioned links, the rounded surfaces of the tenons substantially merging into the top surfaces of the links and the pivo-tal connections being close to the centers of curvatures.

' ROY R. WORRALL. 

